Professor Xiaoshuo Hou (Sociology and Asian Studies)

Spring on-campus course and May/June travel

"China is the second largest economy in the world today yet has always been considered to be culturally and ideologically different from the West, and the rising tensions between the US and China makes understanding Chinese society beyond the news headlines vitally important. This travel seminar provides an opportunity for students to get first-hand exposure to the complexities of China and the various social groups that may experience China’s economic, social, and political changes in different ways.

The on-campus course focuses on China’s transformation from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy since its reforms started in 1978. Specifically, the course will examine the role of the state, private entrepreneurs, and social networks in China’s privatization, and explore the effects the reforms have had on Chinese culture, social classes, genders, ethnic minorities, and the environment. It will thus help students form a more nuanced understanding of contemporary Chinese society and its local variations.

As this travel seminar examines how different segments of the Chinese population navigate the old and the new, the global and the local, the itinerary includes a wide range of cultural sites where students can explore and reflect on the coexistence of tradition and modernity, capitalism and socialism.

For example, the Museum of the Founding of the Chinese Communist Party is right across the street from Xintiandi, a high-profile bar and shopping district in Shanghai. And students will visit both.

In addition, students will have opportunities to visit and have meaningful interactions with a local NGO, an elementary school for migrant children, and college students of their age."

Professor Ginny Lee (Education)

Spring on-campus course and May/June travel

"Students interested in exploring issues surrounding ethnocentrism, culture, and education while serving in field placements in African schools should participate in the Botswana Travel Seminar. Immersed in a beautiful, gem of a country in southern Africa, students participating in this travel seminar will experience culture, food, people and more in both urban and rural settings, including a nature reserve and safari adventure."

Professor Kelly Melekis (Social Work)

Spring on-campus course and May/June travel

"In this course, studentstravelto Finland to learn about how social work is understood and practiced in different parts of the world. Together with students and faculty from several other countries (e.g., Austria, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Nigeria, UK), we explore social issues, social work and social welfare responses to those issues, and ways of communicating across cultural and language differences. We consider global interdependence, the transnational nature of issues such as poverty and violence, the movement of people across borders, the development of the social work profession around the world, and how we might work together to improve the lives of people worldwide. There is also a focus on the progressive social welfare system and cultural treasures of Finland. 

The first week of the course takes place at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi Finland. We attend lectures by participants from different countries and participate in small group discussions on topics germane to global social work. We begin the second week with a field trip to Utsjöki, near Finland’s northern border with Norway. As the only municipality where indigenous Sámi people are the majority population, Utsjöki offers a unique opportunity to learn about Sámi culture and the provision of social services in a remote, sparsely populated locale. During our visit, we stay at Kevo, a sub-arctic research station run by the University of Turku. While at Kevo, we experience and learn about the northern Lapland environment and how it influences the lives of people living in this region of the world. 

Our second excursion is to Helsinki, Finland’s capital and largest municipality. In Helsinki we visit social service organizations and sample some of Helsinki’s many cultural offerings."

Professors Lindsay Buchman and Sarah Sweeney (Art)

Spring on-campus course and May/June travel

Check out this short video to hear from the faculty!

Professor John Michael DeResta (Theater)

Summer only - May travel

"In this new travel seminar, students will attend 7 productionss, guest lectures, participate in OSF’s audience-development projects, and participate in discussions of the plays they are seeing. We will meet with actors, producers, directors and designers from The Oregon Shakespeare festival, research the theater’s professional opportunities, and discuss how OSF serves multiple demographics.  During our week at OSF, students will learn about the theater’s approach to audience engagement, diversity and inclusion, anti-racism, new work development, and classical theater. We will also investigate the 10 consecutive years that OSF’s programming has had to reckon with the annual wildfires that ravage inland Oregon in summer months. Students will not only hike to nearby Mt. Ashland to investigate the damage of the fires up close, and investigate the intersections between environmental science and artistry that these fires have had on the organization."

Professor Sheldon Solomon (Psychology)

Summer only - June travel

"Students should participate in the travel seminar to Oxford in order to study at one of the finest universities on earth, meet and mingle with students from other colleges and universities, and wander around the UK to partake of nature, culture, history, and cuisine.  Stonehenge, Hamlet at the Globe Theater, hiking through the British country side to a local tavern for lunch, and camping at an outdoor music and art festival are just a few of the highlights from previous ventures."

Professors Kathryn Baustian (Anthropology)

Spring on-campus course and May/June travel

Professor Sara Lagalwar (Neuroscience)

Summer only - May/June travel